Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) Sets New 12-Month High at $171.89

The Procter & Gamble Company (NYSE:PG)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $171.89 and last traded at $170.65, with a volume of 953203 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $170.41.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $157.00 to $161.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. BNP Paribas started coverage on Procter & Gamble in a report on Monday, June 24th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $187.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Procter & Gamble from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Procter & Gamble from $181.00 to $179.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Procter & Gamble from $177.00 to $183.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.95.

Procter & Gamble Stock Down 0.3 %

The company has a market capitalization of $401.15 billion, a PE ratio of 27.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $163.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.73 and a quick ratio of 0.53.

Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $20.53 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.69 billion. Procter & Gamble had a net margin of 17.71% and a return on equity of 33.46%. Procter & Gamble’s revenue was down .1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that The Procter & Gamble Company will post 6.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Procter & Gamble Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 19th were issued a dividend of $1.0065 per share. This represents a $4.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, July 19th. Procter & Gamble’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 65.69%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of Procter & Gamble stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Balaji Purushothaman sold 8,842 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.90, for a total transaction of $1,458,045.80. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 11,537 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,902,451.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Jon R. Moeller sold 72,174 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.01, for a total value of $12,342,475.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 263,158 shares in the company, valued at $45,002,649.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 84,389 shares of company stock worth $14,373,932 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.17% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. increased its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1,214.1% during the 4th quarter. GUNN & Co INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT INC. now owns 257,531 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,739,000 after purchasing an additional 237,934 shares in the last quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. raised its holdings in Procter & Gamble by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. Stockman Wealth Management Inc. now owns 63,479 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,302,000 after purchasing an additional 651 shares during the period. Demars Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Demars Financial Group LLC now owns 1,497 shares of the company’s stock worth $219,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its position in shares of Procter & Gamble by 11.4% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 17,163 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,515,000 after buying an additional 1,762 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas raised its stake in Procter & Gamble by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Community Bank & Trust Waco Texas now owns 51,211 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,504,000 after buying an additional 2,415 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 65.77% of the company’s stock.

About Procter & Gamble

The Procter & Gamble Company provides branded consumer packaged goods worldwide. It operates through five segments: Beauty; Grooming; Health Care; Fabric & Home Care; and Baby, Feminine & Family Care. The Beauty segment offers conditioners, shampoos, styling aids, and treatments under the Head & Shoulders, Herbal Essences, Pantene, and Rejoice brands; and antiperspirants and deodorants, personal cleansing, and skin care products under the Olay, Old Spice, Safeguard, Secret, and SK-II brands.